Superboy
Superboy (also known as Project Kr, ) is a genomorph, a clone of Superman and a member of Young Justice. Personality Although he wants to be a good hero, Superboy is an angry young man. Having spent his entire 16 weeks existence as a science project and mind-controlled puppet, Superboy does not like being told what to do or to be dismissed. He often behaves with an air of extreme confidence, due in large part to the fact that he is Superman's genetic clone, and was created in order to replace him. This makes him exceedingly overconfident in his abilities to the point where he ignores the help of others and impulsively throws himself into situation that he cannot handle on his own. Though this was only after he lost his temper from fighting Ivo's robotic monkeys, and after his teammates found him he readily accepted their help. However, despite this confidence he also worries about living up to his namesake, Superman. Due to the fact he had never really had the opportunity to interact with anyone until recently, Superboy seems to have a hard time getting along with others or showing his emotions. As such he constantly behaves in a confrontational manner, to all people, even those who are attempting to be kind towards him. Even simple things like making amends with people who he has wronged, is a tough concept for him to understand. For example, he was unsure of how to apologize after he overacted to Miss Martian's communicating with him with her telepathy. Like Superman, Superboy seems to show signs of great awkwardness in dealing with subjects that he deems uncomfortable. The chief example of course is his lack of relationship with Superman. He has tried at least twice to form some sort of connection with the Man of Steel only to be rebuffed both times. He obviously feels a connection to Superman, and wishes to have him as a mentor and father figure, and feels angered that Superman does not feel the same way. This sense of isolation and loneliness causes him further issues regarding his interaction with his team. This could be considered his main cause of anger even more so than telepaths. Characteristics Superboy has short black hair. He looks like a younger version of Superman around 15-16 years in appearance despite being 16 weeks old. Superboy wears a black t-shirt with the classic 'S' symbol in red. He also wears dark blue jeans which are tucked into brown combat boots. History Early Life 16 weeks prior to July 4 (approximately mid-March), Project Cadmus initiated Project Kr. The intention was to create a clone of Superman that could replace Superman if he died, or defeat Superman if he "turned from the light". The result was Superboy. He was kept in a containment cell along with three G-Gnomes, who telepathically controlled him but also educated him with the knowledge of a boy of his age. Present On July 4, Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash discovered him when they were investigating Cadmus and decided to free him. However, Mark Desmond used the G-Gnomes in his cell to make Superboy attack and knock out the three young heroes. When it was decided that Cadmus would clone the young heroes as well, Superboy took them to the cloning chamber and stood guard. When they woke up, they tried to reach out to Superboy and convince him to help them escape. Aqualad finally convinced him by asking "What would Superman do?" With the others, Superboy fled Cadmus. Although they were apprehended by the collective force of Cadmus' genomorphs, Dubbilex convinced his brother genomorphs to release Superboy and let him make up his own mind - Dubbilex wanted Superboy to blaze a trail for all genomorphs, to show them the way to be free. However, they were interrupted by Desmond, who drank a vial from Project Blockbuster and transformed into a powerful monster. In rage, Superboy attacked Blockbuster/Desmond, but appeared to be outmatched. By working with Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash, they were able to defeat Blockbuster by weakning the structural support of the building and collapsing the roof on him. Outside, Superboy was able to see the moon for the first time. He also met Superman and the rest of the Justice League, but was disappointed and angered by Superman's reaction to him. Along with Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash, he demanded that the League recognise their ability and let them go on more missions. On July 8 at Mount Justice, Superboy and the other heroes were formed into a covert operations team, Young Justice, and introduced to their fifth team member, Miss Martian. Powers & Weaknesses Powers As a genetic clone of Superman he has the normal abilities of a kryptonian under the yellow sun, but for some reason or another he seems to lack some abilities like flight. (He stated that he did not have heat vision when Kid Flash asked him if he was going to fry them but this might have been a joke.) When fighting with Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash he shows he has the power of super speed. It is most likely that he will develop the rest of his Kryptonian abilities during the course of the show. As of now, his powers include: * Super leap * Super Strength * Infrared/Thermal Vision (Part of Super Vision) * Invulnerability * Super Hearing Weaknesses As a genetic clone of Superman he has the weakness of any other Kryptonian. * Green Kryptonite: If in contact Superboy will be in agonizing pain and could die. The exact affects of green kryptonite on Superboy are currently unknown. * Weakness 2: Red sun radiation will render him powerless. Equipment *Solar Suit - Upon being released from his cryogenic suspension in Cadmus Labs, Superboy wore a white Solar Suit with a red Superman S-symbol on the chest. The suit allowed him to absorb Yellow Sun radiation to fuel his powers even underground. The suit was damaged during the fight with Blockbuster. While staying with Wally West, he continued to wear the Solar Suit until he bought new clothes from Central City Mall three days later. Relationships Superman Superboy is Superman's genetic clone. During incubation at Cadmus Labs, Superboy was programmed to replace Superman if he died, or to defeat Superman if he "turned from the Light". Superboy respects Superman, to the extent that Aqualad was able to convince him to resist the G-Gnome's telepathic control by asking "What would Superman do?" Originally Superboy longed to meet Superman, although when they finally met Superboy was angered by Superman's initial reaction of surprise and near disgust at having a clone. After the matter was explained, Superman tried to show some support for him but failed and quickly excused himself. Over the next several days, while staying with Wally West, Superboy repeatedly wondered if Superman knew where he was, and when they'd meet again.''Young Justice'' #0, "Stopover" Since then, Superman has actively avoided Superboy and tried to push responsibility of him onto Batman and Red Tornado. Even when Superboy directly asked Superman to help him figure out the extent of his powers, Superman refused and quickly left. This apparent rejection made Superboy angry and led him to make several reckless errors of judgement, such as attempting to take down the powerful Amazo by himself. Batman explained this to Superman by saying "This boy needs his father", but Superman insisted that he was not Superboy's father and left. Superboy has since made attempts to conquer his anger, e.g. by seeking out the help of Black Canary. Aqualad Aqualad was the first person who reached out to Superboy. Aqualad recognised that Superboy had been controlled by the G-Gnomes when he attacked the three sidekicks trying to rescue him from Project Cadmus, and he was the first to say that Superboy deserved a life of his own, in addition to being Cadmus' weapon. He offered to introduce Superboy to Superman, and later convinced Superboy into rescuing them by asking "What would Superman do?" Robin Superboy originally snaps at Robin due to Robin ordering him to free Aqualad. However, any possible tension between the two seems to have subsided by the end of the episode with Superboy following Robin's plan to take down Blockbuster and Robin inviting Superboy to meet Miss Martian. The two become good teammates, and Superboy eventually starts using some of Robin's neologisms, including "whelmed" and "aster". Kid Flash Kid Flash was initially creeped out by Superboy. He did not make a favourable first impression when he expressed surprise at Superboy's ability to talk. However, when Superboy realised that he could not fly like Superman, Kid Flash reassured him by saying that the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound was still cool. Following the battle with Blockbuster, Kid Flash was the one who told the Justice League that Superboy was a member of their new team. Miss Martian After Miss Martian was introduced she said to Superboy "I like your shirt." which surprised Superboy . In the next episode Welcome to Happy Harbor it seemed those feelings went away after he yelled at her for reading the rest of the teams mind although he later apologized. By Drop Zone the feelings between Miss Martian and Superboy are more apparent (much to the dislike of Kid Flash) with Miss Martian saying to him "It totally works for you, in that you can totally do good work in those clothes," along with her saying "You do have great ears,"while staring at him intensley both times. Also later that episode while Kid Flash and Robin were arguing about the leader Superboy and Miss Martian ask each other why don't they be leader with Miss Martian saying "After the Mr.Twister fiasco?" With Superboy responding with "You did all right," causing Miss Martian to blush. McCartney, Jesse (2010-11-26). "Jesse McCartney Talks "Young Justice"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2010-12-11. Black Canary At first Superboy refused to train with Black Canary, saying he's a living weapon and that it's a waste of his time. During a sparring session, she advises him to harness his anger and make sure that he is always active, rather than reactive, but when he ignores her advice she defeats him twice in quick succession. Before he leaves on a mission, she offers to be there for him when he's ready. After trying to fight the Amazo himself, he finally takes Black Canary's advice to heart, and later goes to her for support in dealing with his anger over his relationship with Superman. Artemis During the Infiltration, Superboy shows no signs of emotion towards her. He remains skeptical and quiet. When Artemis makes a comment about him, knowing he is listening, he does not seem angry or embaressed even though Miss Martian states he was. There is a possible relationship in the future between Superboy and Artemis. Appearances Trivia *He is only 16 weeks old at the start of Young Justice, which technically makes him the youngest of all the members, even younger than Robin (who is 13 years old). However, he is still physiologically 16 years old. *Superboy hates monkeys, possibly because they remind him of G-Gnomes. This is one reason that he hates telepathy. *Superboy is voiced by Nolan North (The same person who voiced Superman). References Category:Hero Category:Characters Category:Young Justice